Gov. Kelly Ayotte vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have allowed parents to request certain books and materials be removed from their child’s school.
The Republican-backed bill targeted books, films, and other items that depicted nudity and sexual contact unless the school could show they had "serious" scientific, educational, artistic or political value.
Related: Defying her own party, Ayotte vetoes raft of Republican bills
In her veto message, Ayotte pointed to parents' existing option to limit the materials their child sees.
"I do not believe the State of New Hampshire needs to, nor should it, engage in the role of addressing questions of literary value and appropriateness," Ayotte wrote.
The state’s largest teacher’s union applauded Ayotte’s veto in a statement Tuesday.
“Every student deserves to see themselves reflected in the pages of their books,” said Megan Tuttle, president of the New Hampshire chapter of the National Education Association. “NEA-NH applauds Governor Ayotte for standing up for the freedom to read in New Hampshire. We hope this book ban bill veto represents a changing tide at the State House and call on lawmakers to listen to Granite Staters who overwhelmingly oppose classroom censorship efforts.”
The bill passed both chambers of the Legislature largely along party lines earlier this year. Parents can already opt their children out of classes and materials they find objectionable. Under this bill, materials that were successfully challenged would have been deemed out-of-bounds for all students.
The legislation would have given school districts until November to establish a process for challenging materials. The bill could still become law if lawmakers override the governor’s veto by a two-thirds majority in both the state Senate and House the fall. That seems unlikely, however, given that the bill failed to pass in either chamber by that margin earlier this year.
